I know it will be difficult because I have many more years ahead of me and many younger and good players will also be out there, but I want to be part of that future.

He finished atop the La Liga assists chart, with 17 assists. On 2 May , he helped Real Madrid to clinch a record 32nd La Liga title as he assisted Real's first goal and scored the second goal against Bilbao, which Real Madrid later won by 3—0.

Eleven days later, Özil scored two goals in the final game of the regular season against Mallorca, once again consolidating his excellent performance with the club.

The win made Real the first club in the Spanish top flight to ever reach points in a single season.

In league play, he provided an important assist to Cristiano Ronaldo who equalised in a 2—2 draw against Barcelona at Camp Nou.

At the end of the season, Özil had 26 assists, more than any other player in the leagues. On 2 September , Özil agreed to join English side Arsenal.

A buy-back option also allows Real Madrid a hour first option on Özil should Arsenal agree a sale for the playmaker to another Spanish club. Özil said of the transfer, "At the weekend, I was certain I would stay at Real Madrid but afterwards I realised I did not have the faith from the coach or the bosses.

I am a player who needs this faith and that is what I have felt from Arsenal, which is why I have joined.

I'm angry about Özil leaving. Özil made his debut for Arsenal in their league game away to Sunderland on 14 September He assisted Olivier Giroud 's goal in the 11th minute of the match as they went on to win 3—1.

He was involved in all three goals, with two assists and a free kick which was saved but fell into Aaron Ramsey 's path. The German playmaker provided the cross for Jack Wilshere 's second goal against Marseille and gave further assists for Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini in the 3—0 win over Cardiff City.

Özil missed the chance to score his fourth Arsenal goal when he saw his penalty in the win over Marseille saved by Steve Mandanda.

Özil began December with two goals in as many games against Hull City and Everton. A minor shoulder injury forced him out of the final game of December in a win against Newcastle United.

After the 6—3 defeat at Manchester City in which he made another assist, Özil was involved in an altercation with teammate Per Mertesacker , who was angry with Özil's failure to thank the travelling supporters, an omission for which he subsequently apologised via Facebook.

Özil started four of Arsenal's six games in January. The year-old produced a slide-rule pass for Lukas Podolski to score his first goal against Coventry City and provided the ball for Santi Cazorla 's goal against Southampton at the end of the month to take his assist tally to February was a difficult month for Özil, as he struggled to reach the heights he showed in his first few months at the club.

The German playmaker pulled off a brilliant piece of skill to win a penalty against Bayern Munich in the Champions League knockout phase , but his spot-kick was saved by Manuel Neuer.

I wouldn't like to put too much pressure on him because he has been a top-class player until now. He didn't have the best of games [at Liverpool ] a 5—1 loss, where Özil was the centre of attention due to a bad performance but that can happen.

He works very hard to adapt to the physical level of the Premier League and for me he is an exceptional player.

On 20 April, Özil made an instant impact with a lively display against Hull when he returned to the Arsenal team in a 3—0 win.

He's been missed while he's been injured. We've missed some very important players in an important period of the season. We're really pleased to have people like him back in the team and performing at the top level because that's what we need.

Özil played all three of Arsenal's remaining fixtures during the last month of his debut season in England. On 23 August, Özil made his first appearance of the season in a 2—2 draw with Everton at Goodison Park.

The prognosis would rule him out of the remainder of Arsenal's Champions League group matches, as well as four international fixtures.

On 11 January , Özil made his first appearance in three months as a 73rd-minute substitute in a 3—0 win against Stoke City. After scoring during a pre-season game against Lyon , Özil received praise from his manager, with Wenger calling for him to have his best season yet in Arsenal colours.

A week later, he made his first appearance of the Premier League season in Arsenal's 2—0 opening day defeat to West Ham United.

Özil scored his first goal of the —16 season in a 3—0 home victory over Manchester United on 4 October. He set a new Premier League record being the first player to assist in six consecutive matches when setting up Kieran Gibbs ' for 1—1 in the derby versus Tottenham on 8 November On 28 December , Özil assisted the first goal and scored the second in a 2—0 win against AFC Bournemouth , creating nine scoring chances in total — the most in a single Premier League game by any player during the season.

On 24 January , Özil played his th game for the Gunners in a 1—0 home defeat against Chelsea in the Premier League.

After a 2—0 home defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League, Özil scored and assisted in a 3—2 defeat at Old Trafford to Manchester United as the Gunners lost further ground in the title race.

Özil assisted Olivier Giroud 's second goal in Arsenal's last Premier League match of the season against Aston Villa in a 4—0 home victory as the Gunners finished second ahead of fierce rivals, Tottenham Hotspur.

That was Özil's 19th assist of the season in the league, a record only beaten by Thierry Henry with 20 in —03 in Premier League history. Özil began November by recording his third assist, which came in the North London derby, and was given after his free kick was turned into the net by opposing defender Kevin Wimmer.

He repeated his set-up exploits three days later in a Champions League win against Basel, feeding Iwobi from the left for the fourth.

He returned to fitness to star in a 2—2 draw against Manchester City on 2 April, where he assisted the equalizer.

Özil entered the —18 season in the final year of his contract, and struggled initially, featuring sparsely with knee inflammation. He recorded a goal and an assist in a 5—2 victory over Everton on 22 October, and recorded another assist a week later, against Swansea City.

After entering January with six months remaining on his contract, which would allow him to engage in pre-contract negotiations with any club, Özil assisted in a win over Crystal Palace, and also assisted in a loss in the reverse fixture against Swansea City on 30 January.

On 2 February, Özil scored in the first knockout round of the Europa League, netting calmly against Östersunds. In doing so, he became the fastest player to reach 50 assists in the competition, in his st appearance, breaking the record previously held by Eric Cantona.

Following the departure of Jack Wilshere , Özil returned to wearing the number 10, for the new season. He was involved in all three goals, scoring the first, and adding two assists in a man-of-the-match performance.

Eligible to play for either Germany or Turkey, Özil chose to play for his country of birth. He was a member of the German under team from On 29 June , Özil was selected the man of the match in a 4—0 win over England during the U European Championship final.

He made his debut for the senior side during a friendly match against Norway on 11 February He scored his first goal for the senior team in his third appearance, another friendly, against South Africa on 5 September in Leverkusen at the BayArena.

He provided an assist for Cacau 's goal to the 4—0 final score against Australia in Germany's first group game. He scored a left-footed half-volley from the edge of the penalty area against Ghana in the final group game, ensuring Germany progressed to the second round as group winners.

On 27 June , Özil played in Germany's win over England in the last 16 match, setting up the fourth goal with a cross to Thomas Müller as Germany triumphed 4—1.

Özil was one of the leading forces in Germany's qualification for UEFA Euro , scoring five times during the campaign as Germany won all ten of its games to top their group.

On 29 February , Özil was recognised as Germany's best international of the year for prior to kick-off at a friendly against France in Bremen.

Özil registered two assists, created nine chances, and claimed the Man of the Match award in Germany's 4—2 quarter-final win over Greece. Following an injury to Marco Reus in a warm-up game, Özil was moved from his customary number 10 role into the left-winger position for the majority of the tournament.

Özil scored the decisive goal in the th minute of Germany's 2—1 round of 16 victory over Algeria , a match widely praised as one of the most entertaining of the tournament.

The goal Özil assisted, with a clever pass, made the score 5—0 to Germany after just 29 minutes. The shocking nature of the 5-goal flurry generated worldwide astonishment.

In the final , Özil played minutes before being replaced by Arsenal teammate Per Mertesacker. Germany were crowned World Champions with a 1—0 win.

On 12 June , Özil completed the full 90 minutes of Germany's opening Euro match against Ukraine which Germany won 2—0. He assisted Bastian Schweinsteiger 's goal in the 92nd minute.

After the nation's World Cup campaign, losing out at the group stage, Özil posted a series of messages on social media on 22 July, in order to clarify the photograph and address the criticisms he had faced.

He later detailed the core issue stemmed from his interactions with Reinhard Grindel , the president of the DFB, accusing him of displaying both racism and disrespect on multiple occasions, while also noting similar incidents with other high-profile German nationals, namely Bernd Holzhauer and Werner Steer.

A quick, agile, creative and technical player, [9] [] Özil is a versatile midfielder, who excels in an advanced playmaking role, [9] [] as a winger on either flank, or as an attacking midfielder through the centre of the pitch.

Due to his creative ability and offensive prowess as a playmaker, Özil has been called "assist-king" in the media.

We praise Wayne Rooney to the heavens, likewise Ronaldo or Messi. But we have our own Messi. Our Messi is Özil. Former Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso described Özil as "the kind of player you don't find these days," adding, "He understands the game, sees things, combines and thrives between the lines, unlocking teams.

There is no copy of him — not even a bad copy. When he has the ball, you can feel the excitement and astonishment among the fans.

He is a dream for strikers. His nicknames have included " der Rabe " the Raven, or in Spanish, " El Cuervo " — playing on his smart and opportunistic style of play, [] and at Werder Bremen " der neue Diego " the new Diego , in reference to Brazilian Diego , whose playmaker role he inherited, [] " German Messi " [] and " German Zidane.

Özil is a third-generation Turkish-German , [] who, in reference to his game, concludes, "My technique and feeling for the ball is the Turkish side to my game.

The discipline, attitude and always-give-your-all is the German part. Özil is a practising Muslim. He recites from the Quran before his matches.

I pray and my teammates know that they cannot talk to me during this brief period. I do it only the few days I can, only when I have a free day.

But other than that it's impossible, because you have to drink and eat a lot to stay at peak fitness. In , Özil received the Bambi award for being a prime example of successful integration within German society.

Özil started dating singer Mandy Capristo in In May , international media covered Özil's visit to the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, home to around 80, people displaced as a result of the Syrian civil war.

Özil toured the camp as well as playing with children, signing autographs and handing out football shirts.

In , he worked with the charity My Shining Star to make a child cancer patient's dreams come true. He invited the child, Charlie, to be a guest at his private box and in the player's lounge during a game with Sunderland at Emirates Stadium.

In , Özil signed a sponsorship deal with German sportswear and equipment supplier Adidas. One of those adverts, entitled "Create Your Own Game", was released in August , in which Özil featured alongside those players.

Germany U21 [] []. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Mesut Özil Özil with Germany in Retrieved 10 February Retrieved 11 August Retrieved 13 May Ozil will make history at Real".

Bremen verpflichtet Schalker Özil". Archived from the original on 19 November Retrieved 29 October Archived from the original on 28 April Und wir könnten uns daran erfreuen, ihn stolz die Nationalhymne singen zu sehen.

Retrieved 18 May Retrieved 31 May Retrieved 31 August Retrieved 1 October Arsenal midfielder out with knee injury for up to 12 weeks".

Retrieved 9 October Retrieved 8 February Retrieved 1 March Retrieved 4 April Retrieved 11 February Archived from the original on 17 July Retrieved 27 July Retrieved 21 October Retrieved 5 October FT Watford 0—3 Arsenal".

Retrieved 19 October Arsenal playmaker makes history in Tottenham draw by becoming first player to assist in six consecutive Premier League games".

Retrieved 8 November Retrieved 30 November Retrieved 8 January Retrieved 29 December Retrieved 25 January Five things we learned". Retrieved 14 February Retrieved 28 February Retrieved 19 March Retrieved 15 May Retrieved 11 June Retrieved 27 August Retrieved 24 September Retrieved 15 October Retrieved 19 October — via YouTube.

Retrieved 6 December Retrieved 26 December Retrieved 22 January Retrieved 2 April Retrieved 5 April Retrieved 17 April Retrieved 10 May Retrieved 16 May Retrieved 21 May Retrieved 22 October Retrieved 26 October Retrieved 18 November Retrieved 29 November Retrieved 22 December Retrieved 20 January Retrieved 30 January Arsenal midfielder signs new contract until ".

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Retrieved 23 July — via Twitter. Retrieved 3 December Retrieved 3 January Retrieved 16 June Mesut Ozil is the best no.

Archived from the original on 6 February Retrieved 6 February Number 13 Mesut Ozil". Retrieved 7 December Retrieved 24 October England will end up in a Messi if they can't control Germany star Mesut Ozil".

Retrieved 4 February Retrieved 23 November Retrieved 27 May Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in German. Retrieved 13 January Retrieved 15 August The New York Times.

Retrieved 20 November Mesut Ozil at head of the vanguard for new generation". Retrieved 17 June Retrieved 22 February Archived from the original on 5 March Retrieved 28 July Ich habe nie Angst" [Mesut Özil: I am never afraid].